Playing With Fire: Part Five

The King is made of glass; Justine refuses to play the chess game of war; the dance of death begins

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

BEGGAR

So. You did have gold. Shame you had to give it away.

JUSTINA

I was going to help you. She never gave me the chance. I'll ask him instead.

SHE CATCHES THE KING, AND PREVENTS HIM LEAVING.

JUSTINA

Your majesty!

THE KING JUMPS.

KING

Do be careful. You almost broke me.

BEGGAR

Don't talk to him. It's a waste of time.

KING

That's what they all say. No-one ever wants to talk to me.

JUSTINA

But we do, your majesty.

KING

You do?

JUSTINA

We want to talk about her village.

KING

Oh.

JUSTINA

It was burnt.

KING

How interesting.

JUSTINA

Burnt by troops.

KING

Terrible.

JUSTINA

You think so, your majesty?

KING

War is terrible. Terrible. I never think about it.

JUSTINA

But you should.

KING

Why? It's most unpleasant.

JUSTINA

But you're the King!

KING

Oh that? Yes. Most unfortunate. People have the strangest notions of what is to be king. My father used to feel the same. Terrible man.

Frightened me to death. Always getting onto his horse. Trying to do things. Galloping about. Shouting. All that happened was his throat got sore. And people kept dying. I hated it. And he kept insisting that I do it. And  I was a terrible rider. Terrible. Always falling off. Smashing things. Then people would have to come and hoist me up again. On a crane. Most undignified. The risks I ran. That was before I knew what I really was. Before I understood.

Better to do as little as you can. You do less harm.

JUSTINA

But you can't do any good.

KING

I never could do any good.

JUSTINA

Why not?

KING

Too fragile.

JUSTINA

No more than other people. Look.

KING

Don't touch me. I'll break. I am made of glass. It took me years to understand. But then I never rode again. Whoever heard of a vase on horseback? What could be more absurd. Even walking, one must take precautions.  That's why I wear these clothes. To protect me. If you carry  crystal, do you let it go naked in the streets? Of course not. You cushion it. You cosset it. You protect it from harm. Of course it means I have to cover my glory. Regrettable.

But can't be helped. Wouldn't do to splinter into pieces. Or fragment.

JUSTINA

I suppose not.

KING

It can easily happen, you know. All too easily. That's why I have trouble with doors.  Sharp edges. Dangerous. No-one understands.

BEGGAR

Got any gold?

KING

Gold, my dear? No. I never carry gold. Never. Far too great a risk. It might break a bone.

BEGGAR

I'm off then. Nothing here.

EXIT THE BEGGAR.

KING

Disagreeable person. Dirty.

JUSTINA

She is a victim of the war.

KING

War has its victims, I believe. Though I rarely see them.

JUSTINA

But you are responsible.

KING

It has nothing to do with me.

JUSTINA

It is fought in your name.

KING

So many things are done in my name. I couldn't possibly keep track of them all.

JUSTINA

But it is your duty.

KING

Duty?

JUSTINA

Don't you have duties?

KING

Very few. They disagree with me.

JUSTINA

Don't you ever have to sign things?

KING

Oh that. Every day. For hours and hours. Thank God I can't read. Or I'd have to do that as well.

I would die of tedium.

JUSTINA

Well you should.

KING

You think I should die?

JUSTINA

No.

KING

It is occasionally tempting. Life can be so wearisome. One's curlicues get so covered in dust. But I am obliged to live. I am the state. I am the embodiment of order. That is why I am so fragile. Why I take such care. Why I am so beautiful.

JUSTINA

You're not.

KING

Oh you don't see. You poor poor thing. So many people don't. But I thought better of you. And you're missing such a treat. I feel sorry for you.

JUSTINA

For me?

KING

You have spoken to me. People don't, you know. Hardly at all. I just have to sit on my throne, high above the people, where it's terribly draughty, in these frightful heavy robes. And no-one says a word to me. And they look so sad. They're always quarrelling. And I have to sit up there and watch them. And I think, if only they'd stop. If only they'd stop for a minute and talk to me. Or just listen.  They'd hear such lovely music. Can you hear it?

JUSTINA

No.

KING

Oh try. Please try. You'd love it, I know. You have a musical face. Close your eyes, please. Concentrate. Shut off every other sound from your mind.

JUSTINA LISTENS. WE CAN HEAR THE MUSIC TOO: FAR OFF, UNEARTHLY.

KING

There. Can you hear it?

JUSTINA

Yes. I think so.

KING

The music of my spheres. My spinning crystals.

PAUSE.

JUSTINA

It's beautiful.

KING

I am so glad you can hear it. It is so beautiful. It is a feature of the finest glass. From Venice. It vibrates in the atmospheres.

It's fading.

JUSTINA

It's gone.

KING

It makes me so happy to share it. You know these days I cannot always hear it. All these wars. So noisy. And that Constable's frightful armour. Why can't he take it off?

JUSTINA

She.

KING

Sorry?

JUSTINA

She. The Constable. She's a woman.

KING

My dear I take no interest in such things. They used to make me try. You cannot believe the frightful things. Frightful things they made me do. They produced some silken creature. Wanted me to touch her. Something to do with an heir. Of course I refused. She then screamed some gibberish at me. In English, I believe. Frightful ugly language. Then she hung about the palace for a while. Apparently she died. But all that was years ago. Before the war.

JUSTINA

Was that how the war began?

KING

Oh I don't know. It really is of no concern to me.

JUSTINA

But this is the war that lays your land to waste. This is the war that burnt the village of my friend. And that doesn't concern you?

KING

Is there any reason why it should?

JUSTINA

You're the King!

KING

Well, exactly.

JUSTINA

I thought I felt sorry for you but now I don't. Don't you want to change things? Don't you want the land to be at peace?

KING

What I want has nothing to do with it. I'm only the King.

JUSTINA

Well I want to change things. And if you won't, I will.

KING

I'm disappointed in you. I thought you were rather nice. But now you've turned into a screeching, querulous creature.

JUSTINA

Kingship. It's such a lie.

KING

It's no lie. You are querulous. Very querulous.

JUSTINA

They tell you the rulers are wise. Infinitely above our heads. That they know what they're doing. Well they don't. I could do a better job than you. I mean look at you. You're useless.

KING

Of course I'm useless. If I were useful I would not be king.

JUSTINA

Then I'll be king. Give me your crown.

KING

No. It's mine.

JUSTINA

Give me your crown. Or I'll take it.

KING

No. Don't. Don't come near me. I mustn't be touched. Or I'll break.

JUSTINA

I don't care.

KING

If you touch me I'll shatter. I'll break into a thousand pieces. Please.

JUSTINA

I don't care if you break into a million pieces.

I am going to be King!

JUSTINA ADVANCES ON THE KING AND TAKES THE CROWN FROM HIS HEAD. THE KING SCREAMS AND FALLS TO THE GROUND.

JUSTINA RUNS OFF TO THE PANTRY. THE KING DOES NOT BREAK INTO PIECES. HE SITS UP AND STARTS FEELING HIMSELF ALL OVER.

KING

Extraordinary. Quite extraordinary. I should be shattered. I should be smashed to pieces. My particles scattered to the four winds. The ground littered with my shards. The air choked with smithereens. Yet here I am. In one piece. Apparently. And I feel lighter. So much lighter. My head feels as though it could fly.

ENTER JUSTINA WEARING THE CROWN.

JUSTINA

It suits me. It definitely suits me. Gives a certain something to the head. Authority. I think I like it. Can I have your robe?

KING

Of course. With pleasure. Better and better.

JUSTINA PUTS ON THE KING’S ROBE

KING

I feel different all over. What is this? It is a foot. What are these? These are toes. And they wiggle. Extraordinary. And these are hands.

Human hands. They don't have to be regal. Not any more.

Nothing else to sign. Nothing else to approve. Nothing. How wonderful. Wonderful. I can be human. Whatever that means.

JUSTINA

I've always wanted authority. Just think. A whole life spent coughing in attics. Choking in crypts. Struggling over smoky substances. Trying to be an alchemist. And now I can be king.

KING

And I can be useful. I wonder what it's like to be useful.

JUSTINA

I'll show you. Summon the Constable.

KING

Me?

JUSTINA

Who else.

KING

But I can't.

JUSTINA

No such word.

KING

I don't know how to.

JUSTINA

It's simple. Walk to the door. You can walk?

KING

Yes. Yes, I can walk. And I can bump into things. Bump into anything I like. Bump. Bump. Its wonderful. Sheer delight.

JUSTINA

To the door.

KING

This door?

JUSTINA

Now stand beside it and say: Constable. The King requires you.

KING

I couldn't.

JUSTINA

Yes you can.

KING

I've never required her in my life. I'd hate to.

JUSTINA

But you don't require her. I do. So summon her.

KING

Constable.

JUSTINA

Again. Louder.

KING

Constable!

JUSTINA

I'll show her who's boss. I wish the beggar could see me.

KING

Constable! Where are you?

Am I getting better?

JUSTINA

Much better.

KING

There's someone coming!

ENTER THE BEGGAR.

BEGGAR

Alms for the poor!

KING

Oh dear. That's not the Constable.

JUSTINA

It's a start. Don't be down hearted.

BEGGAR

Alms for the poor!

JUSTINA

Give her alms. Go on. What's keeping you?

KING

They won't come off.

JUSTINA

Not your arms. Stupid. Alms.

KING

In that case I don't have any. I think I used to have an alms-giver. But he died.

BEGGAR

Alms for the poor. Come on. Alms.

Justina!

JUSTINA

Yes.

BEGGAR

It's you.

JUSTINA

That's right.

BEGGAR

So. You're king now. Fancy that. I didn't recognise you. And that's the poor soul who used to be king. He's looking better.

KING

Thank you.

BEGGAR

You look human.

KING

And you're not so disagreeable.

BEGGAR

Come and see my graveyard.

EXIT KING AND BEGGAR ARM IN ARM.

JUSTINA

But what about the Constable? Still, if you don't want to summon her, I'll summon her myself. I wish to see the Constable!

ENTER THE CONSTABLE.

CONSTABLE

(BOWS) Your Majesty.

Your majesty has changed.

JUSTINA

Now I am King.

CONSTABLE

It makes no difference. I deal with the crown. I do not care who wears it.

It is the same with my army. When I pass it under my eye, what do I see? Human beings? No.I see rows of helmets. What is under those helmets is not my concern.

It is the same with the crown. One King is very like another. All are useless.

Your majesty plays chess? The king has no power of his own. The power is in the queen. As in myself. The king is just a cumbrance. He can scarcely move. And yet he is the centre of the game. Without him, all things fall to pieces. And that is how things are.

JUSTINA

I want justice for my friend. For everyone whose lives have been destroyed by war.

I want to see the land at peace.

CONSTABLE

The army has set out. You cannot call it back. Besides, we fight for peace. What else is there worth fighting for? Observe this map.

THE CONSTABLE PICKS UP A CHESSBOARD WUTH A HALF COMPLETED GAME.

JUSTINA

But that's no map. That's a chessboard.

CONSTABLE

You do not see it with the strategist's eye.

To the trained eye, the military eye, each meadow, each field and hillside is a square.

Just a square on the board, each with its own particular traps and possibilities. Here is the position. You be England.

JUSTINA

If you like.

CONSTABLE

Your move. Take care. Your forces are scattered.

JUSTINA

I'm attacking you on many fronts.

CONSTABLE

You are greedy. You are destroying your sources of supply.

JUSTINA

My castle will attack your flank.

CONSTABLE

I'll counter with my knight.

JUSTINA

I can take it.

CONSTABLE

Of course. I knew. It was a sacrifice. I bade them farewell. They rode off in the grey dawn.

Their spurs were jingling, the feathers on their helmets bobbing up and down. Their armour gleamed, even in moonlight. A brave sight.

The next day I rode past the place. They told me the streams ran red with blood. You could not walk five yards without stumbling on a corpse.

You forgot my pawn.

JUSTINA

Pawns are nothing.

CONSTABLE

The people of France. My pawns. They encircle you on every side. I have led you into a trap. You will not so easily escape.

JUSTINA

I take that one.

CONSTABLE

But there are others. Burn one town and ten more are eager to attack you. And you depend on them. You prey on us and yet we feed you.

Destroy us and you destroy yourselves.

I move this pawn forward. Watch. A mere battalion. Not so great a sacrifice. But see all the other forces it brings into play.

JUSTINA

I can't turn back.

CONSTABLE

Yes. You have cut off your own retreat.

JUSTINA

What do I do?

CONSTABLE

You die. See. I have assembled forces here. And here. They burn the villages as they pass. Your men will starve.

JUSTINA

You're killing your own people too.

CONSTABLE

I will do anything to be rid of you.

JUSTINA

You'll destroy your own country to make it safe?

CONSTABLE

If I must.

JUSTINA

That is how the beggar lost her land. Her home. Her children. Her name.

CONSTABLE

Only a beggar.

JUSTINA

She wasn't then. She had a village.

CONSTABLE

Why feel sorry for a village. Bigger issues are at stake. We are fighting for survival.

JUSTINA OVERTURNS THE CHESSBOARD.

JUSTINA

I don't want to play.

CONSTABLE

You don't like to lose.

JUSTINA

I think it's wrong.

CONSTABLE

Wrong or not, we have to play it. Right or not, you cannot end it.
Life is warfare. Evil surrounds you on every side. If you turn your back on it, do you think it disappears?

JUSTINA

I don't know.

CONSTABLE

You think that I have never dreamt of other things. I used to have a husband. One I loved.

We lived in Brittany. Our castle was fair. And then the English came. We were besieged. I was expecting my first child. It was a long and bitter siege. My husband led a sortie, and was killed. The rabble fled back in terror. The enemy attacked. What was I to do? Was I to let our town be taken? To be sacked and burnt? To have my people tortured, sold to slavery, or worse? I could not.

I cut my hair. I led the charge. But I felt the child inside me die.

Some days later the corpse was born. There was a new attack, I had no time for grief. I wear the ashes round my neck. They keep me safe.

Where else do you think I find my courage?

JUSTINA

Are you very much afraid?

CONSTABLE

We are all afraid. I have seen men weep behind their armour. Soldiers are not born. They are made.

JUSTINA

And how are they unmade?

CONSTABLE

They die. As we all must.

EXIT CONSTABLE, THROUGH DEATH'S DOOR. ENTER BEGGAR AND KING, LAUGHING.

BEGGAR

What happened?

JUSTINA

I don't know.

JUSTINA TAKES OFF HER CROWN AND ROBES.

JUSTINA

These are no use now.

KING

It's not so easy being king. Not half so easy as it looks.

JUSTINA

She'll burn your village all over again.

ENTER DEVIL THROUGH DEATH'S DOOR.

DEVIL

She has gone to lead the dance. Who will join her?

BEGGAR

Oh yes. I'll go.

KING

Don't. Please.

DEVIL

She has to go. You all must. And she is not afraid. The tune's gone round and round her head for years.

THE MUSIC BEGINS TO PLAY.

BEGGAR

I have walked through the dead lands where no birds sing. Where the doors yawn empty and the houses are dark. I have heard that music before.

I have seen the faces. Their teeth were clenched. Their jaws were set. They sat or huddled or lay there in stupid defiance while all around them the flies buzzed and sucked.

They were all that moved in the dead lands, them and I. From house to house I trudged, from village to village, from town to town. And death was everywhere. She had taken the people, the houses she had left intact. And the strangest thing of all: she took all who fled from her, but left me, who sought her out. I entered all the houses. Sometimes I touched their faces, or I closed their eyes. And then she left the land, as quickly as she came, leaving me bereft.

Let me go. Don't be afraid.

KING

I feel no fear. Not now. But when I was made of glass, everything threatened me. Each step I took, each breath of wind. It was always thus.

Men with hammers lay in wait behind every door. No-one touched me. I could let no-one near. My own voice sounded distant, as if I was sitting inside a jar. And then she took away the crown. I thought I'd die. She was the man with the hammer, but she only smashed the jar. I could step free. I walked out into the air. I sat on a gravestone. I felt earth between my toes. The sunlight on my face. Your hand in my hand. My music returned. We laughed. What more could I ask for? I will follow you. Where you go, I'll go too.

BEGGAR

We'll go to a cottage just beside a road. With a fire always burning in the grate, with logs always ready beside it. A table always stocked up with food, and beer from a barrel in the corner. Everyone stops there, and tells a tale or two, and then moves on. And there's dancing on the way there.

KING

Will it be slow and stately?

BEGGAR

No, it'll be like a wedding.

KING

Will you teach me?

BEGGAR

Of course. Come on.

THE BEGGAR AND THE KING BEGIN TO DANCE. THEY EXIT THROUGH DEATH'S DOOR, LAUGHING TOGETHER. THE MUSIC ENDS.